First Edition: July 12, 2019
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Despite Federal Protections, Rape Victims Still Get Billed For Forensic Exams
Six years ago, Erin was a newly minted graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, working three part-time jobs and adjusting to life as a non-student. She stopped in for a drink one night at a restaurant in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood, where she got into a conversation with a guy. The next thing she remembers clearly was awakening at home the next morning, aching, covered in bruises, with a swollen lip. She believed she had been raped and went to the local police station to file a report. (Andrews, 7/12)
Kaiser Health News:
DOJ Lawyers Try New Tricks To Undo Obamacare. Will It Work?
Once again, the fate of the Affordable Care Act is before the courts. The health law has traveled all the way to the Supreme Court (twice!) and is highly likely to make another visit. On that path, the law made a stop Tuesday before a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. Both sides presented arguments, interrupted, at times, by sharp questions from two of the judges. For those just tuning in, the Trump administration is not defending the nine-year-old ACA. (Appleby, 7/12)
Kaiser Health News:
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Could The ACA Really Go Away?
The Affordable Care Act was back in court again this week — this time before a three-judge panel at the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. A lower court ruled last December that the entire ACA is now unconstitutional because Congress in its 2017 tax bill eliminated the tax penalty for failing to maintain health insurance. It appeared that two of the three judges — both appointed by Republicans — seemed sympathetic to the arguments made by the plaintiffs, mostly attorneys general from Republican-led states. (Rovner, 7/11)
Kaiser Health News:
Listen: Young Undocumented Californians Cheer Promise Of Health Benefits
Medicaid provides health care to low-income people. And California is set to be the first state to offer it to immigrants younger than 26 living there without legal permission. Starting in January, California will expand eligibility to include undocumented people ages 19 through 25. The change allows them to apply for full health coverage under Medi-Cal, the state’s version of Medicaid. It’s part of a bigger plan to eventually get everyone in the state covered. California is making the move at a time when other states and the Trump administration are trying to restrict who gets health benefits. (Caiola, 7/12)
The New York Times:
Trump’s Efforts To Rein In Drug Prices Face Setbacks
President Trump’s plan to lower prescription drug prices hit two major obstacles this week. He killed a proposal on Thursday that would have reduced out-of-pocket costs for older consumers out of concern that it would raise premiums heading into his re-election campaign. And a federal judge threw out a new requirement that drug companies disclose their prices in television ads. Administration officials rushed to assure the public that the double setback did not reflect failure on one of the president’s signature issues, one that has fueled public outrage and drawn the attention of both parties. (Thomas and Goodnough, 7/11)
NPR:
Trump Administration Walks Back A Plan To Reduce Drug Costs
Right now, if you're a Medicare Part D beneficiary, and you need to pick up a drug that has a $120 list price, you might have to pay that full price, even if the middleman that negotiates on behalf of your insurer only pays a net price of $100 for it, after rebates. The idea of this proposal was that the consumer would only have to pay the discounted price. (Simmons-Duffin, 7/11)
The Associated Press:
Setbacks For Trump's Drive To Lower Prescription Drug Costs
The rebate plan was crafted by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar but ran into opposition from White House budget officials. That pushback stiffened after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the plan would have little effect on manufacturer prices and would cost Medicare $177 billion over 10 years by leading to higher premiums subsidized by taxpayers. Trump's reversal on rebates was a win for insurers and middlemen called "pharmacy benefit managers" who administer prescription drug plans for large blocks of insured patients. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 7/11)
Stat:
Trump Abandons Proposal That Would Have Ended Certain Drug Rebates
While the White House had argued eliminating rebates would result in drug manufacturers charging lower list prices, the proposal has been controversial since its unveiling in January. Drug manufacturers had largely supported it, while middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers and insurers were vocally opposed. (Facher, 7/11)
The Washington Post:
Trump Kills Key Drug Price Proposal He Once Embraced
The withdrawal of the plan is expected to put pressure on administration officials to pursue more populist proposals, from importing lower-cost drugs from other countries to basing the prices of some Medicare drugs on the lower prices paid by other countries — ideas favored by the president but reviled by the drug industry and many Republicans. It also demonstrates the internal conflicts within the administration on drug policy and the president’s tendency to flip-flop — the plan was part of his drug pricing blueprint released with fanfare a year ago. (Abutaleb, Goldstein and Parker, 7/11)
Axios:
President Trump Is Killing A Major Plan To Lower Drug Prices
The administration is also open to a controversial proposal being discussed in the Senate that would limit how much drug companies can increase their prices within Medicare's drug benefit. (Owens, 7/11)
Politico:
Trump Leaning On Sanders-Style Ideas To Save His Drug Plan
Donald Trump’s ambitious agenda for lowering drug prices has shrunk drastically, leaving the White House dependent on Congress and an idea championed by Sen. Bernie Sanders to salvage one of his signature health care promises. ... What’s left of the biggest proposals among dozens unveiled by Trump last year is a plan to tie certain drug payments in Medicare Part B to cheaper international prices, and elsewhere, a plan to let states import medicine that is fast gaining traction. Versions of such ideas have been championed by progressives like Sanders but are loathed in the conservative movement. (Owermohle, Cancryn and Diamond, 7/11)
The Hill:
White House Withdraws Controversial Rule To Eliminate Drug Rebates
The proposal had split the administration, with Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar championing it but other White House officials pushing back and worrying about estimates that showed it could increase Medicare spending by almost $200 billion. (7/11)
Reuters:
White House Scraps Key Plan To Lower U.S. Drug Prices; May Target Drugmakers
Baird analyst Eric Coldwell said Trump was likely refocusing his reform efforts on the pharmaceutical companies themselves. "There are still many headwinds for the supply chain, but... pharma and biotech seem to have drawn the ire of the administration more recently," said Coldwell, noting the industry's successful legal challenge of a rule that would have required drugmakers to include list prices in TV ads for their medicines. (Humer and Pietsch, 7/11)
The Wall Street Journal:
Insurer Relief Could Come At Pharma’s Expense
Just two days after the future of the Affordable Care Act was once again called into question, health insurers scored a big win. Investors should expect the risk of adverse regulation to shift, rather than vanish altogether. The Trump administration is withdrawing its plan to curb billions of dollars in annual rebates that drugmakers give middlemen in Medicare. Investors had worried the rule, which was to go into effect as soon as next year, would eat into the drug supply chain’s profit margins. Share prices had languished as a result. (Grant, 7/11)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Drops Plan To Curb Drug Rebates
Health care remains a top concern of U.S. voters headed into the 2020 election. Taken together, the recent setbacks could leave Mr. Trump vulnerable to Democrats’ attacks that he isn’t following through on his promises to lower drug prices. Seeking to regain momentum, the Republican president sought to shift the focus last week, promising an executive order on drug pricing. He has also pledged to deliver a new GOP health plan and issued an executive order to require hospitals and doctors to better disclose pricing to patients. (Armour, 7/11)
Stat:
After Trump Pulled The Plug On Rebates, His Options To Reduce Drug Prices Narrow. And He May Need Congress
When the Trump administration rolled out its drug pricing blueprint in May 2018, framing it as its plan to make good on one of the president’s signature campaign promises, it promised to shake up how Americans pay for prescription drugs. But in May, the administration abandoned a proposal to allow private Medicare plans to refuse to pay for certain drugs in so-called “protected classes” if they spiked in price. (Joseph and Garde, 7/11)
The Wall Street Journal:
Health-Care Rally Helps Lift Dow To Record Close
A rally in health-care stocks pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average over 27000 for the first time after the Trump administration abandoned a plan to curb drug rebates. The decision canceled a proposal that would have eliminated rebates from government drug plans, easing concerns of a massive disruption to the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. Shares of UnitedHealth jumped 5.5%, leading the Dow industrials 227.88 points, or 0.8%, higher to 27088.08—its best close ever. (Wursthorn and Allen, 7/11)
The Associated Press:
Appeals Court To Quickly Consider Trump Family Planning Rule
A federal appeals court says it intends to quickly consider whether the Trump administration can impose new abortion-related restrictions on federally funded family planning clinics. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday issued an order in lawsuits brought by more than 20 states and health care organizations challenging the new rules. The rules include a ban on taxpayer-funded clinics making abortion referrals. (7/11)
The Hill:
Appeals Court Denies Demands To Halt Trump Abortion Referral 'Gag Rule'
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against emergency petitions that sought to block the rule from taking effect while the changes are being challenged in court. That means the administration can enforce the rules, which block abortion providers like Planned Parenthood from the Title X program and bans providers in that program from referring women for abortions. (Hellmann, 7/11)
Politico:
Elizabeth Warren Takes On Trump With Immigration Overhaul
Elizabeth Warren on Thursday unveiled her plan to reform the nation’s immigration system amid a deepening crisis over detention at the southern border and a fraught debate across the country and within the Democratic Party on the way forward. Among other things, the proposal calls for allowing more immigrants to come into the country legally, lifting the refugee cap from 30,000 under the Trump administration to 125,000 and then 175,000; a revamp of the immigration court system to establish independence from Justice Department leaders; and the creation of an "Office of New Americans" tasked with facilitating integration, including teaching English. (Thompson, 7/11)
Politico:
2020 Election: How Elizabeth Warren Would Address Immigration Reform
The rollout comes as Warren and other national Democrats have accused the Trump administration in recent weeks of exacerbating a humanitarian crisis along the southern border by failing to provide basic necessities and sanitary conditions for migrants held in detention centers. “But while Trump may have taken the system to its most punitive extreme,” Warren wrote, “his racist policies build on a broken immigration system and an enforcement infrastructure already primed for abuse.” (Forgey, 7/11)
Reuters:
U.S. House Seeks Documents From Companies That Run Immigrant Detention Centers
Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives said on Thursday they have sent letters seeking documents and information from three companies responsible for detaining illegal immigrants arrested by U.S. immigration agents. The House Oversight Committee and its House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties sent letters to CoreCivic Inc, Geo Group Inc and DC Capital Partners LLC seeking information about the facilities they operate under contract from the U.S. government. (7/11)
The Associated Press:
AOC, Other Liberal Dems In Spotlight At Immigration Hearing
Four Democratic freshmen who reported squalid conditions at migrant detention stations at the southern border are taking the spotlight at a House committee hearing, even as partisan and internal Democratic tensions near a boil over President Donald Trump's immigration policies. Friday's House Oversight and Reform Committee session comes as surging numbers of families, children and other migrants entering the U.S. from Mexico have overwhelmed the government's capacity to house them adequately. (Fram, 7/12)
Politico:
Pelosi Urges Dems To Help Counter Trump’s Planned ICE Raids
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday warned her caucus about President Donald Trump’s planned immigration raids this weekend, urging members to spread information about undocumented immigrants' legal rights. Speaking to a closed-door whips meeting, Pelosi urged members to spread the party’s “know your rights” campaign, according to two people in the room. (Ferris and Hesson, 7/11)
Stateline:
Cities, States Brace For Immigration Raids
If the Trump administration follows through on its threat to deport thousands of immigrants living in the country illegally, it will start with migrants who are under removal orders signed by an immigration judge. A Stateline analysis of immigration court data suggests that of the 1.1 million removal orders on file last month, 60% were issued to migrants residing in California, New York, Texas, Florida and Arizona. Miami, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Houston and Florence, Arizona, have the most removal orders, based on addresses listed in court documents, which can easily change. Many immigrants use the addresses of temporary detention centers, like the one in Florence, or homes of friends. (Henderson, 7/11)
The Associated Press:
A Year After Separation, Migrant Boy In Texas Waits For Dad
There were water balloons at Byron Xol's birthday party — bunches of them, filled a dozen at a time. He squeezed them with both hands, until the water burst on his face and chest. "Super good!" the 9-year-old yelled, again and again. It's a new catchphrase — but then, Byron spoke no English at all 15 months ago. (Merchant, 7/11)
Reuters:
When The U.S. Puts A Border Between Migrant Kids And Their Caretakers
On June 12, Gerardo, a 41-year-old indigenous bricklayer from Guatemala, appeared before a U.S. immigration judge in El Paso, Texas. Since crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally two months earlier with his 14-year-old son, he had been separated from the boy and forced to wait in Mexico for his hearing. Now, he had only one question for the judge: “Can you help me get my son back?” (Cooke, 7/11)
USA Today:
Kamala Harris: Rape Kit Backlog Can Be Cleared At Cost Of Trump Golf Trips
Sen. Kamala Harris said Thursday that if she wins the White House she’ll push Congress to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in her first term to help state law enforcement agencies process tens of thousands of untested rape kits that could help police identify perpetrators of sexual assaults. The rape kit backlog has long been a stain on American law enforcement agencies. By some estimates, the nationwide backlog includes more than 225,000 cases in which evidence from reported sexual assaults has gone untested. (Madhani and Tuchscherer, 7/11)
The Washington Post:
Kamala Harris Proposes Federal Spending To End Backlog In Processing Of Rape Evidence
According to End the Backlog, a project sponsored by the Joyful Heart Foundation, which seeks to assist crime victims, hundreds of thousands of rape kits collected from victims are sitting untested in evidence storage or crime labs nationwide. As advances in DNA testing placed strain on crime labs, there are no national standards for keeping and testing the evidence. (Janes, 7/11)
The Hill:
Gillibrand Unveils Plan To Lower Drug Prices
Presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) on Thursday unveiled a plan to lower drug prices and increase scrutiny of pharmaceutical companies. Gillibrand said in a campaign statement that she would work to penalize and prosecute pharmaceutical companies when necessary, allow safe importation and negotiation of drug prices and create the position of "pharmaceutical czar" to lead audits of the industry's business practices. (Frazin, 7/11)
The Hill:
Sanders To Join Diabetes Patients On Trip To Canada To Buy Cheaper Insulin
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced Thursday he will accompany patients with diabetes on a bus trip to Canada to buy insulin that's available at cheaper prices than in the U.S. The move comes as Sanders seeks to burnish his progressive bona fides as he vows to lower drug costs if elected president. He will make the trip with members of Insulin4All on July 28. (Axelrod, 7/11)
The Hill:
Grassley: Deal To Lower Drug Prices Moving Forward 'Very Soon'
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Thursday that he plans to advance a bipartisan deal to lower drug prices “very soon.” “While the final details are still being negotiated, we’re on track to report a bill out of committee very soon,” Grassley said in a statement. (Sullivan, 7/11)
Stat:
Christi Shaw Named CEO Of Kite Pharma, Gilead’s Anti-Cancer Unit
Christi Shaw, until Thursday morning the executive in charge of Eli Lilly’s drug division, will become the CEO of Kite Pharma, the unit of biotechnology giant Gilead that is focused on treatments that genetically engineer patients’ white blood cells to attack cancer. Shaw said she was inspired to take the job because that type of treatment, known as CAR-T, is what she wants to focus on. (Herper, 7/11)
Reuters:
U.S. Lawmakers Advance Bill To Boost Puerto Rico Medicaid Funding
A bill that would give Puerto Rico a substantial boost in federal Medicaid funding advanced out of a U.S. House subcommittee on Thursday after lawmakers agreed to work on stricter safeguards for the money in the wake of a government corruption scandal in the island territory. The Health Subcommittee sent the legislation, which would give the bankrupt U.S. commonwealth an additional $12 billion over four years, to the full House Committee on Energy and Commerce. (7/11)
The Washington Post:
Puerto Rico Corruption Scandal Ripples Through Washington
A corruption scandal in Puerto Rico is prompting fresh calls from Republican lawmakers to impose tighter constraints on federal spending for the island, intensifying a long-running political conflict in Washington over how to help it recover from a 2017 hurricane. (Stein and Dawsey, 6/11)
Washingtonian:
Meet The Virginia Guy Who Gave A Kidney To Protest The Blood-Donation Ban For Gay Men
In May, 24-year-old Crystal City resident Barton Lynch checked into MedStar Georgetown University Hospital to donate one of his kidneys—not to a friend or relative, but simply because he knew someone out there needed it more than he did. It was an extraordinary act of generosity, done out of a deep sense of frustration. For years, Lynch regularly gave blood as a way to honor his father, who was diagnosed with cancer during Lynch’s freshman year of college. However, recently Lynch, who works for a consulting firm, started dating both men and women and per FDA policy, all men who have sex with other men cannot donate their blood unless they refrain from same-sex intimacy for a year. (Newman, 7/11)
The Hill:
Man Donates Kidney To Protest Ban On Blood Donation For Gay Men
"Not that long ago I started dating guys, which now eliminates me from being able to donate blood. This frustrates me to no end, because I think it’s based on outdated science and outdated [HIV] scares," Lynch told the magazine. "So I needed to find a way to give back that wasn’t giving blood. I know the need is there for kidney donations, so it seemed like a no-brainer—how could I not?" he added. (Bowden, 7/11)
The Associated Press:
Hospital Fires 23 Workers In Case Of Excessive Doses, Deaths
The Ohio hospital system where excessive painkiller doses were given to dozens of patients who died fired 23 nurses, pharmacists and managers Thursday and said it is changing leadership, a sign that professional fallout from the scandal has expanded far beyond the intensive care doctor accused of ordering the drugs. The announcement by the Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System comes five weeks after that doctor, William Husel, pleaded not guilty to murder charges in 25 of the deaths, marking one of the biggest cases of its kind against an American health care professional. (Franko, 7/11)
The New York Times:
Hospital C.E.O. Resigns And 23 Employees Are Fired After Ohio Doctor Is Charged In Murders
The chief executive of an Ohio health care system announced his resignation and the termination of 23 employees on Thursday, one month after a doctor who worked for the hospital was charged in one of the largest murder cases in the state’s history. Ed Lamb, the chief executive of Mount Carmel Health System, said in a statement that his resignation would take effect on July 25. He added that the hospital’s executive vice president, Richard Streck, would be retiring at the end of September. The employees’ terminations were effective immediately. (Padilla, 7/12)
The Wall Street Journal:
Philadelphia Safe-Injection Site Draws Supporters In Court
Authorities from seven states, the District of Columbia and some major U.S. cities are backing a Philadelphia effort to open a supervised drug-injection site, which the federal government is trying to stop in court. Safehouse, a nonprofit in Philadelphia, seeks to open a site where people can use drugs in a safe and sanitary environment with help to avoid overdose fatalities. Federal prosecutors sued the nonprofit in February, arguing it would violate federal law by creating a place for people to use illegal drugs such as heroin and bootleg fentanyl. (Kamp, 7/11)
NPR:
Dozen Local Leaders Ask U.S. Court To OK Injection Site For Opioid Users
Top officials from 13 states are joining Philadelphia in urging a federal court to allow a site to open where people can inject illegal opioids under medical supervision, the latest escalation in a legal battle with the Justice Department that may determine whether such facilities, known as supervised injection sites, can start to operate in America. In Philadelphia, where drug overdoses — most involving opioids — kill three times as many people as homicides, a nonprofit called Safehouse has been working to launch an injection site as a way of combating the city's opioid crisis. (Allyn, 7/11)
Stat:
As Trump Claims Credit For Decline In Opioid Deaths, Others See Signs Of Danger Ahead
Ahead of a 2020 race already focused on health care, President Trump is boasting that his administration played a huge role in achieving the first annual drop in overdose deaths in three decades. The drop, he crowed recently, is “tremendous.” But behind the scenes, his administration’s efforts to address the opioid crisis are increasingly contentious. Two federal agencies are feuding over how to classify certain drugs too dangerous for public consumption. And in the two-plus years since his inauguration, his White House has yet to nominate a leader for the Drug Enforcement Administration. (Facher, 7/12)
Stat:
Fewer Opioid Prescriptions Being Written For Medicare Part D
As the U.S. grapples with an ongoing opioid crisis, a new federal government report finds that efforts to rethink physician prescribing practices and provide treatments for people who have abused opioids appear to be working. In 2018, nearly 3 in 10 beneficiaries received at least one prescription opioid through Medicare Part D. Specifically, 29% of beneficiaries, or 13.4 million of the 46.8 million people enrolled in the program, received opioids. (Silverman, 7/11)
Reuters:
Lawmakers Seek Scientific Review Of Plan To Tightly Regulate All Fentanyl Copycats
Lawmakers on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee have urged the Trump administration to conduct a scientific review of a Justice Department-backed bill to classify all illicit chemical knockoffs of the potent painkiller fentanyl in the same legal category as heroin. The sweeping legislation may "deter valid, critical medical research aimed at responses to the opioid crisis," the senators said in a July 10 letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar seen by Reuters on Thursday. (Lynch, 7/11)
The Washington Post:
They Grew Up Practicing Lockdown Drills. Now They’re Steering The Conversation On Gun Violence.
The student from Birmingham, Ala., came because she wants to “stir up tough conversations” about gun control in a deep-red state. The teenager from Los Angeles was there because she is sick of learning how to prepare for a school shooting instead of how to prevent one. The boy from Baltimore came because he is tired of bullets ripping through his neighborhood as he tries to sleep. (Richman, 7/11)
Stat:
To Tackle Childhood Malnutrition, Researchers Turn To The Microbiome
Nearly half of all deaths worldwide in children under the age of 5 is from malnutrition. And those who manage to survive suffer long-term consequences, such as stunted growth and delays in neurodevelopment. From nutrition bars to energy supplements, the current standards for addressing the nutrition gap focus on providing the recommended amount of calories as well as individual nutrients. (Chakradhar, 7/11)
The New York Times:
After 40 Weeks Of Pregnancy, Risk Of Stillbirth Rises
When pregnancies last for 40 weeks or longer, there is an increase in the risk of stillbirth and neonatal death, a large review of studies has found. The meta-analysis also found that prolonging pregnancy beyond 40 weeks did not reduce the risk for death in the baby’s first month of life. Current practice in the United States is to induce labor at 41 weeks. (Bakalar, 7/11)
The New York Times:
Move Over Therapy Dogs. Hello, Therapy Cows.
Even without a psychology degree, Bella’s natural talents made her an excellent therapist: She is calm and accommodating of a range of personalities, with the patience to listen to endless problems without so much as a judgmental moo. From a lush, secluded pasture on the Mountain Horse Farm, a 33-acre bed-and-breakfast in the Finger Lakes region of New York, 3-year-old Bella and 2-year-old Bonnie are the highlander-angus crossbred cows that provide animal-based therapy. (Mala, 7/12)
The New York Times:
California Lawmakers Give Utilities A Backstop On Wildfire Liability
Heading into another wildfire season, California’s political leaders have moved with unusual speed to help the state’s utilities erect a backstop against huge liability claims. The State Legislature gave final approval on Thursday to a measure that would set up a fund to help compensate victims for losses from fires started by the utilities’ equipment. (Penn and Eavis, 7/11)
Los Angeles Times:
Utility Customers Will Pay $10.5 Billion For California Wildfire Costs Under Bill Sent To Newsom
The bill’s passage was a political victory for the governor, but some questioned whether California leaders were just making a down payment for wildfire costs that will skyrocket if more isn’t done to prevent ever-larger blazes. The administration says the bill will provide investor-owned utilities with at least $21 billion to pay for damage from blazes linked to their equipment beginning this summer. Utility customers will be required to pay $10.5 billion to the so-called wildfire fund through a 15-year extension of an existing charge on monthly bills, one that was originally expected to expire by 2021. (Luna, 7/11)
ProPublica:
Judge Orders Expanded Oversight For Mentally Ill New Yorkers In Supported Housing
Not enough people are covered by an oversight system meant to safeguard residents of a New York housing program for people with mental illness, a federal judge found this week, after reviewing a report commissioned in response to a ProPublica and Frontline investigation. Since January 2014, more than 750 people with severe mental illness have moved out of troubled New York City adult group homes and into subsidized apartments under a federal court order. The idea was to give them a chance to live outside institutions, with services coming to them as needed through a program called supported housing. (Sapien, 7/12)
The Associated Press:
LA Police Chief Vows To Erase Homeless People's Warrants
Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said he is working to eliminate thousands of homeless people's old warrants for minor offenses in the coming weeks as part of a solution to help get people off the streets. "This is a humanitarian crisis of our generation," Moore said Wednesday in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press. "This matches any other calamity that this city or this region or this country has seen. It is, I believe, a social emergency." (7/11)
The Washington Post:
A Dying Woman Raised Money For Her Own Funeral. Strangers Donated So Much, She’s Now Giving Away The Surplus.
Chalise Scholl’s mother died of heart disease and breast cancer two years ago, and to pay for the burial, Scholl cashed in her own small life insurance policy of $1,000. Scholl, then 35, assumed she had plenty of time to buy a new policy. Sadly, she was wrong. Almost one year later, in November 2018, Scholl, of Peoria, Ill., ended up in the emergency room with abnormal bleeding. (Free, 7/11)
The New York Times:
22 States Considered Eliminating The ‘Tampon Tax’ This Year. Here’s What Happened.
Why are tampons taxed when Viagra isn’t? That’s the question at the heart of the push to repeal the so-called tampon tax, a catchy phrase that refers to state sales taxes applied to menstrual products, including pads and cups. Thirty-five states still tax the items, despite momentum to change that. Opponents of the tax argue that tampons and pads should be treated like groceries and medical supplies: they should be tax-exempt because they are necessities. (Zraick, 7/12)
The Washington Post:
Health Officials Investigate After Respiratory Illnesses Claim 2 Lives, Hospitalize 18 From Assisted Living Facility
Two residents of a Virginia assisted living facility have died and 18 more have been hospitalized with respiratory symptoms in the past 11 days, prompting Fairfax County health officials to launch an outbreak investigation at the Springfield facility, officials said Thursday. The Fairfax County Health Department announced the probe of Greenspring after 54 residents out of 263 were reported to be ill with symptoms ranging from coughs to pneumonia, department officials said in a statement. (Williams, 7/11)
Stat:
How Patient Records From One Boston Hospital Fueled Explosion In AI
Some of the patients had suffered heart attacks or were in septic shock; others had cancer, pneumonia, or a whole host of other conditions. From 2001 to 2012, more than 46,000 of them passed through the intensive care units at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Boston hospital affiliated with Harvard. Their vital signs were monitored and recorded, as were their lab test results, their doctors’ notes, and reams of other data. (Robbins, 7/12)
Los Angeles Times:
Social Workers Didn’t Remove Boy From His Home Despite Court Order. He Later Died
Los Angeles County caseworkers allowed 4-year-old Noah Cuatro to remain in his parents’ home despite a court order in May — weeks before the Palmdale boy died under what authorities say are suspicious circumstances, according to two sources who have reviewed court documents. At the time of his death Saturday, Noah remained under active supervision by the county Department of Children and Family Services after at least 13 calls to the child abuse hotline and police from people who said they suspected that the children in the home were being abused, the sources said. (Therolf and Stamos, 7/11)
The Associated Press:
Mississippi Suspends OB-GYN Physician Amid Accusations
Mississippi has suspended the medical license of an OB-GYN physician amid several complaints about him, including that he had an affair with one of his married employees starting in 2015 and tried to insert abortion-inducing drugs into her while she was pregnant with his child. The baby was born in 2016. (Pettus, 7/11)